Ali McGhee

Ali McGhee is a journalist, creative writer, and academic. Her work has appeared in The Edgar Allan Poe Review, Romantic Circles, Symbiosis: A Journal of Anglo-American Literary Relations, and Atlantic Studies. Her creative writing has been published in Slippery Elm Literary Journal and Dark Mountain. She is a Multimedia Producer for AVLtoday, also a contributor and editor for Sensible Reason, a millennial arts and culture website, and is an editor for the multimedia arts forum Holler (holleravl.org). She teaches Baptiste-inspired yoga at Pure Yoga Asheville. She is an avid cook, loves horror films, and travels whenever she gets the chance (most recently she visited Colombia, and she's heading back to Iceland in March.) Recently she was awarded a week-long writers' residency at Bloodroot Mountain.

Local hip-hop/production outlet Xero God play their first show at Ellington Underground with The Difference Machine and 10th Letter of Atlanta. We talk up the show and drop a track from Xero God's new album, Bandidos, for you. You're welcome.

EarthCry, feat. Mike Healy, brings experimental electronic to Isis on Saturday, 11/11. We talk with Anthony Thogmartin, founder of EarthCry and member of Papadosio, about what to expect. Kri Samadhi and Illumination Station also perform.

We sat down with flutist Claire Chase (and friend/composer Kyle Brenders) to talk about her early experiences with avant-garde music, the Density project, the problem with genre, and how she's gotten really into conference calls (among many other things).

Prof. Logik will bring the noise to Friday's BEAT LIFE, an ongoing series that features the best in beats music from local and nationally-renowned producers. Tyler Ambrosius, LAVIER, and Vietnam Jerry also perform.

There's still time left to snag your ticket to this show on Friday, 3/17, at the Asheville Masonic Temple. Kevin Morby and Waxahatchee co-headline, and Mary Lattimore opens the night of intimate, and rare, solo performance.

Simrit Kaur brings her ethereal, gorgeous sound to Asheville's Masonic Temple on Saturday, March 18th. We interviewed her about her new album, her favorite spiritual texts, and the cultural appropriation of yoga, among other things.

An interview with Julianna Barwick, who is playing at Asheville's historic Forsythia Hall on Friday, 9/30 with opener Mary Lattimore in support of her newest album, Will. The show is presented by the Mothlight.

The next BEATLIFE show, thrown by the Asheville Beat Tape Collective, happens Saturday, 9/17, and is a tribute to the late North Carolina producer DFLN (Derrick Curtis). A lineup of special guests and friends of Derrick will show support and love at West Asheville's Mothlight.

Asheville Grit spoke with Travis Laplante, the founder of tenor saxophone quartet Battle Trance, before their upcoming show. The show happens on Friday, September 9th at the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center and is presented by Free Range Asheville. All proceeds will go to the BMCM+AC.

RBTS WIN play the Mothlight Saturday, 9/3, with Doc Aquatic and Marley Carroll. RBTS is one of the Grit's favorite bands and this is an incredible lineup, so we thought it was the perfect time to release this just-recovered (post-tech crash) interview we did with them at Moogfest!

Charlotte rapper PHAZE GAWD (Tony Potts) recently released Definitive Theosis, a new EP produced by deceased artist DFLN, and it's powerful stuff. We talked with the GAWD about music, politics, race, and the state of hip hop in North Carolina and the country. PHAZE GAWD plays BEATLIFE at the Mothlight on September 17th.

Jeff Thompson is bringing a new format for the Giving Trio's live show to the Altamont, where he'll play on Saturday, September 3rd. The show will feature special guests and a visual art and dance installation that will accompany the music.

Horse Lords will play West Asheville's the Mothlight with openers Nest Egg on 8/30. We talked with guitarist Owen Gardner about the upcoming show and the goals they had for their new album, Interventions, out now on Northern Spy.

Buddhist Geek founders Vincent and Emily Horn are bringing their newest program, Meditate.io, to Asheville as a popup meditation. The first event happens this coming Wednesday, August 3, from 7:30-8:30 am at the Asheville Yoga Teacher Training Center.

Atlanta-based producer and Asheville BEATLIFE performer 10th Letter (Jeremi Johnson) recently released new LP, Escape from ATL. It's a vivid exploration of a future that is both strange and strangely like our own.

Tarocco: A Soldier's Tale is a gorgeous, unique production from Fox and Beggar Theater playing through the weekend at Diana Wortham in downtown Asheville. Includes a photo gallery from Christopher Greene.

Asheville's Musashi Xero (Tyler Jackson) reflects on the past two years of his musical and personal evolution, including his collaborations with members of the Asheville Beat Tape Collective and his upcoming projects with Xero God.

This Thursday at Asheville Music Hall, producer TOKiMONSTA, the first woman on Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder label, takes the stage with support from Ambre Perkins and local producer Panther God. We're giving away two tickets--to win, share this post on Facebook and tag someone you'd want to bring.

There's no better way to celebrate Independence Day than by exerting your personal right to dance your face off. This month's free BEATLIFE show happens on July 4th at the Mothlight with headliners BomBassic and Electrochemical and support from Samuel Paradise, DJ Kutzu, and Musashi Xero.

Asheville's own Ahleuchatistas play the Pisgah Brewing Stage at the Mothlight at today's All Go West 2016 festival in West Asheville. I got the scoop on the band from founding member and guitarist Shane Parrish.

Atlanta's unclassifiable hip hop psychedelic group The Difference Machine takes the stage at the Mothlight for All Go West. Asheville Grit spoke with members DT and Dr. Conspiracy about what to expect.

Performance artist trixxie carr brings her amazing one-woman faux queen rock opera to Asheville's Grey Eagle on Saturday with the help of Two Queens, Tranzmission, and an impressive posse of local and regional musicians, DJs, artists, and performers.

We caught up with I Speak Machine's Tara Busch and Maf Lewis at Moogfest 2016 about their multimedia graphic novel, their live horror scores, and what's up next for them. I Speak Machine will be at NMASS Festival in Austin next week.

Rhinoleap, a production company made up of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni and current students, are bringing their production of The Tempest to Asheville as part of their first North Carolina tour. It's a retelling of Shakespeare's classic work, complete with puppets and an original score.

Nashville-based band PUJOL comes to Ole Shakey's this Saturday night @ 7 pm. We've got two pairs of tickets to give away, and the winners will also get a free track download. To enter, share our Facebook post about the on your page. We'll announce the winners on Friday at midnight!

"Believe it or not, Asheville parties the way New Orleans does." Asheville Grit interviewed headliner Big Chief Juan Pardo (of the Golden Comanche Mardi Gras Indians) about what we can expect at this year's Beer City Festival!

Asheville's own Resonant Rogues play Beer City Festival 2016 this year. We talked with Sparrow about the festival, their performance, their tour plans, and their new Kickstarted album. Don't miss them at Beer City!

Synth duo Zombi plays Moogfest on Thursday, May 19 @ Motorco. I talked with them about the festival, the evolution of their sound, and how they both embrace and break away from their influences to create a totally new sound experience.

Philadelphia-based ceramic artist Roberto Lugo, who is shifting conversations around pottery and identity, will speak on "Ghetto Craft: A Place Where Poverty and Porcelain Intersect," at the CCCD on Thursday, May 12th @ 6:30 pm. The talk is free and open to the public.

Put on by the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center and the Media Arts Project, Interlude is an exploration of the creativity that will emerge across approximately one month in downtown Asheville.

This inaugural photo+craft event takes place March 31-April 3 in arts spaces around Asheville. It's the first event of its kind to unite not only two areas within the arts--photography and craft--but also to unite the larger Asheville arts community.

The blizzard can't stop Fringe! Ruts! The Oregon Trail Experience and Willie Filkowski Welcomes You to Florida the Sunshine State are ON tonight at Tiger Mountain Thirst Parlor. Pay what you can, drink something warming!

Ruts! The Oregon Trail Experience is premiering at the Asheville Fringe Festival. I talked with writer/director Debbie Harbin and composer Paul Obarowski about their inspiration, their own experiences of the game, what we can expect from the performance, and why you should be there--even it you've never played The Oregon Trail.

Aligning Minds Recordings hosts its launch party this Saturday, 12/19, at the Orange Peel. Headliner and AMR artist A Path Untold headlines, with support from Futexture, Aligning Minds, and BomBassic, as well as a plethora of multimedia artists.

Massively influential electronic duo Autechre are gracing The Orange Peel with their conceptual, abstract, and always enthralling sounds Thursday, October 8. The duo shift the way we think about what music is, how it’s made, and where it’s headed.

This month’s BEAT LIFE, hosted by the Asheville Beat Tape Collective at the Mothlight, brings an eclectic mix of performers to the stage on Friday, September 25. It’s going to be literally impossible not to dance your face off.

The Asheville Ballet's first Fall performance (which is free and looks freaking amazing) is this Friday and Saturday, September 25-26 at 7:30pm. They will take place at the Masonic Temple downtown, and did I mention are free?

New Mountain’s SOL Bar hosts a night of hip hop, wordsmithing, and deep beats on Tuesday, September 8th. The intimate venue is ideal for an up close and personal night with some of the best emcees and DJs in Asheville and beyond.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Adam Johnson will be speaking at Malaprop’s Bookstore and Café this Friday, September 4th at 7 pm. His newest book is a collection of short stories that are beautifully drawn, lyrical, and emotional reflections on human life.

Regional favorites and visionary producers Aligning Minds (Mike Folk and Daniel Merrill) have been heavy hitters in the local scene for years now. Now, Aligning Minds is also turning their attention to production and artist representation with the founding of Aligning Minds Recordings.

Brooklyn-based duo Tanlines have a new record out that is heartfelt without ever being cynical, nostalgic without pretension, danceable without cliches. The excitement I feel for this album is only eclipsed by the thrill I get when I realize they're playing in Asheville at our very own Mothlight...

Asheville's BomBassic is on the threshold of greatness as the word continues to spread about their performances. I sat down with the guys to talk about the trajectory of their relationship, the development of their sound, and all of the exciting things on the horizon for them.

Brian Panowich pulls from a deep well of knowledge of Southern culture—its music, geographies, and flavors. His debut novel is fascinating, and talking with him was like focusing a magnifying glass on the wild traditions that make these mountains so special.

Matthew Quick, New York Times bestselling author of Silver Linings Playbook, will be sharing his newest novel, Love May Fail, at Malaprop’s Bookstore and Cafe with a reading, Q&A, and signing on Monday, June 29 at 7 p.m.

BomBassic headlines this month’s BEAT LIFE show at The Mothlight, happening on June 27. The evening promises to be another experience to remember brought to you by the Asheville Beat Tape Collective, a group of artists and producers who are at the forefront of innovation in sound.

Ultimately unclassifiable, Jaga Jazzist's music, which has been alternately regarded as nu jazz, acid jazz, electronica, and post-rock, is infectious. Characterized by the creative melding of sounds across genres, performances are energetic, virtuosic, and not to be missed.

Francesco Lombardo wants you to think more about death. The painter, a long-time resident of Marshall, NC, will be sharing some of his newest works with the Asheville community in a show that runs June 5 – July 2 at Izzy’s Coffee Den

The psychedelic sounds of the Growlers, purveyors of “Beach Goth,” are coming your way on June 10th to New Mountain AVL. The band’s music melds darkly poetic lyrics with the jangly guitar of surf-rock. It’s a midnight bonfire on a haunted beach, and you’re invited.

Nigel One has been an instrumental member of Asheville's electronic music scene and founded the Asheville Beat Tape Collective, a group seeking to continue a supportive, networked community that expands our city’s presence on the national scene.

The Asheville Beat Tape Collective brought 10th Letter to the Mothlight earlier this month and I sat down with him before his performance to talk about his new LP, his influences, and his ideas about life, the universe, and everything.

Wednesday, February 4th, is one of the first in a series of shows put on by the Asheville Beat Tape Collective – a group of local electronic artists, musicians, and DJs who are making an effort to expand Asheville’s electronic music horizons.

Spurred on by the opening of the Moog Store and Factory and the rise of Moogfest and Mountain Oasis, Asheville’s IDM scene has quickly become one of the fastest-growing and most exciting in the country to watch.